Conventional cable television programming made available to subscriber premises includes basic service available to all subscribers, and premium service, such as a movie channel, which is available in return for a monthly fee. The base service and premium service can be handled on a monthly billing basis which entitles the subscriber to all events and programming on the specified channels for the month-long period. A recent marketing strategy for cable television consists of pay-per-view wherein a subscriber is offered the opportunity to select a specific program, such as a sporting event, to be made available at a select time on a select date. The pay-per-view offering typically permits a subscriber to request the special event during a period of time preceding the scheduled event. A separate one-time fee is then charged against the subscriber's account. While two-way cable television systems permit direct subscriber orders over the cable, the vast majority of subscribers with addressable one-way cable television converters request pay-per-view events via the telephone or mail. The telephone or mail-order request for pay-per-view events does not provide a timely or reliable acknowledgement to the subscriber that the pay-per-view request has been received and implemented.